The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 51

Darkness had settled beyond the Gate, yet the scene blazed brighter than midday.
Camera flashes erupted from every direction, their mechanical whir drowning out all else in a cacophony of light.
“He’s out! Hunter Baek Iwon!”
A human silhouette emerged through the rippling Gate.
The moment the waiting figure appeared, the reporters descended like starving beasts.
“How was the Gate clear?”
“We heard it was a Mental-type Gate—wasn’t it quite challenging?”
“What was your clear time? Did you beat the previous record?!”
The reporters’ attention suddenly shifted past Iwon’s shoulder.
Other faces were emerging one by one behind him.
“Who are the Hunters accompanying you?”
“Are they from the Goyo Guild?”
Camera lenses swung instantly toward them.
‘So much commotion over everything.’
Yeom Sa-hyeon, the last to exit the Gate, squinted against the blinding flashes.
The reporters thrust microphones at him too.
“Hmm? You’re a Hunter too? I don’t recognize your face—which organization are you with?”
“Is this an operation with new personnel?”
At least it worked out well.
Sa-hyeon pulled his Disguise Hat lower and subtly pushed Lee Ha-je forward.
“…!”
Lee Ha-je’s sharp eyes, bright with the flashing lights, suddenly went calm.
Sa-hyeon leaned toward the microphone.
“It was difficult, of course.”
His voice carried an uncharacteristic gentleness.
“…?”
Iwon’s brow furrowed faintly.
Hae-seong was equally taken aback.
“?!”
Even with the Disguise Item distorting his voice, his distinctive manner of speech remained unchanged…?
While the three froze for different reasons at Sa-hyeon’s sudden move,
he casually patted Lee Ha-je’s back and continued unfazed.
“Without this new S-rank’s help, we’d have struggled.”
“…?!”
“!!”
“A-a new S-rank?!”
The scene erupted in an instant.
The cameras arrayed wide around Iwon swiveled sharply in unison.
Toward the exotic-featured boy. The new S-rank.
“Could this be that S-rank rumor from the Academy?!”
“Is it true?”
“Kim! Get the breaking news up, now! Do it now!”
The scene descended into chaos.
Amid the relentless barrage of flashes, Sa-hyeon quietly stepped back behind his companions.
He flicked the pouch containing the Red Core Fragment lightly between his fingertips, then caught it again.
He’d dumped all the annoying work on them….
“Just do what we practiced.”
Sa-hyeon gave the three a brief instruction.
Before they could even turn around,
“Then I’m off.”
he turned and walked away without hesitation.
“…! Wait, I—”
Iwon, who had been dutifully answering the reporters’ questions, spun around.
Sa-hyeon’s figure was already receding into the distance. But the reporters were too absorbed with the new S-rank to notice him leave.
“…Huh.”
Iwon let out an exasperated breath.
“You’re recruiting a newly awakened S-rank into the Goyo Guild?”
“Is the person beside him another new Awakener?”
Meanwhile, amid the barrage of questions, Hae-seong’s face twisted in dismay as he bit his lip.
So this was why you had us divide up our roles!
“L-let’s go together!!”
Hae-seong’s cry echoed hollow through the space.

* * *

Go Yo Guild Headquarters, Conference Room.
The massive monitors lining the walls played and replayed footage from the Underground Market Gate site.

[Newly Awakened S-rank Makes Shocking Debut!]
[First S-rank in Five Years in Korea—Confirmed as Summoner Trait…]

The headlines were fixed entirely on the newcomer, Lee Ha-je.
Just then, the conference room door opened.
“Guild Master!”
“Welcome!”
Guild members rose from their seats in unison.
Baek Iwon raised a light hand in acknowledgment and settled into the vacant chair as naturally as breathing.
Before he could even catch his breath, questions erupted.
“Guild Master, is it true? That kid in the footage is really S-rank?”
“The news made such a huge deal about it. Honestly, didn’t you carry him through it, Guild Master?”
“Right? A freshly awakened Summoner, and at an A-rank Gate no less? If he didn’t wet himself, that’s a miracle.”
Excited chatter filled the room.
Through it all, Baek Iwon said nothing, his gaze fixed on the news feed.
The boy on screen—Lee Ha-je.
His eyes showed no intimidation whatsoever before the camera, unbefitting a novice.
“His skills were quite impressive.”
Baek Iwon nodded briefly.
“!”
“Really?”
The conference room stirred with energy.
Baek Iwon was normally mild-mannered, but his assessments of Awakeners were sharp as a blade.
He believed proper evaluation of ability was the only way to avoid dangerous situations.
“He was already handling an A-rank summoned creature. His potential is substantial.”
As Baek Iwon added this matter-of-factly—
Bang.
The table jolted violently.
“Then we absolutely must recruit him right now!”
The talent acquisition team lead shot up from his chair.
“An S-rank Summoner with promise? Before those other guild vultures get their hooks in him, let’s sweet-talk him over!”
The conference room erupted with fervor.
“What salary range should we offer?”
“We’ll have to see what the other guilds are bidding.”
“Still, we’re the top guild in Korea—we have our reputation to uphold!”
“Hoo—so we’d have two S-ranks? We could aim for top three in all of Asia?”
Guild members chattered excitedly among themselves.
‘Everyone’s full of energy today.’
Baek Iwon smiled faintly and, out of habit, tapped open an app on his phone.
‘S-rank Fortune App’
An application he always consulted before making important decisions.
He typed several keywords into the premium chat window.

[Lee Ha-je, S-rank, Summoner Trait, Awakening Date Unknown]

Soon, words began appearing in the chat one by one.

[Blind Devotion]
[Censorship]
[Variable]
[Three Visits to Request Advice]

“…….”
Even at a glance, the keywords weren’t easy to parse.
‘Blind Devotion—does that mean the Inquisitor?’
Lee Ha-je’s gaze, which had turned only toward the Inquisitor.
Even if they were master and student, that attitude was closer to blind devotion than respect.
The Inquisitor seemed reluctant to reveal his true identity—but did Lee Ha-je already know?
His gaze returned to the newscast.
His eyes deliberately skewed away from the center of the screen.

-Without the help of this new S-rank, it would have been difficult.

The Inquisitor deftly turned the spotlight toward Lee Ha-je.
Baek Iwon’s eyes narrowed.
‘…In any case, an unpredictable sort.’
By regulation, Lee Ha-je shouldn’t have been able to enter the Gate.
Entering a Gate without a Hunter License was strictly forbidden.
Yet the Inquisitor had given him the credit.
As a result, the controversy over his unregistered status was buried, leaving only a dazzling debut on stage.
While the Inquisitor himself slipped out of the journalists’ sight entirely.
‘I don’t know what connection these two share, but if he’s the type to blindly devote himself to the Inquisitor, control will be difficult.’
Still, Baek Iwon couldn’t afford to let an S-rank slip away.
There was no doubt he’d become an incredible asset.
The guild members’ conversation was winding down.
“You mentioned he’s currently enrolled at the Academy? Will you go personally, Team Leader?”
Baek Iwon closed the application as he spoke.
“I’ll go myself.”
The moment Baek Iwon spoke, all eyes in the conference room snapped toward him.
“The Guild Master personally, sir?”
“Come on, having the number one ranked Hunter go out just to recruit a new member looks a little….”
“Isn’t that exactly the right message to send?”
“But Guild Master, do you have the time? Just managing the Gates keeps you busy….”
Then it happened.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep—

[! Emergency Alert: B-rank Gate Occurrence at Suwon Station]

A long sigh escaped the conference room.
“Well, that’s convenient timing.”
“Guild Master, please stay. Support Team One can—”
“It’s fine.”
Baek Iwon rose from his seat.
“A B-rank will take quite a while. If I go, it’ll be much smoother. Han Bi-su—where is he?”
“Still seems to be wrapping up at the Underground Market… I’ll summon him right away.”
The guild members scattered in perfect coordination.

Moments later, a small crack appeared in the conference room.
Crack—
“Oho, Boss!”
Han Bi-su stepped through the rift with a grin.
“You made it out without getting torn to shreds by that demon?”
“?”
“Demon?”
The guild members tilted their heads in confusion.
Was he talking about that new S-rank?
Baek Iwon pressed his brow and suppressed a sigh.
“…Stop spouting nonsense. Get ready. We move in ten minutes.”
“Okay, just us? That’s perfect—I’m in! Wonder how much we’ll rake in this time!”
Han Bi-su, rubbing his hands together with a greedy grin, suddenly turned his head.
“Right—did you grab anything from that Gate we cleared earlier? Mutant Dungeon and all, there should’ve been rare drops.”
“Didn’t have time to collect anything separate,”
“Aaagh!”
Han Bi-su clutched at his own head.
“I knew it! Argh! My lost fortune!”
“Why do you think that’s yours….”
Baek Iwon exhaled with an exhausted look, then added placatingly, “But we did get the Boss Core.”
The anguished expression melted from Han Bi-su’s face as it brightened.
“That’s all that matters! The Boss Core’s the priciest loot anyway. What about the Gate reward item?”
“Some kind of Badge, I think….”
Baek Iwon trailed off mid-sentence.
“…Wait.”
Now that he thought about it—
That item.
The Inquisitor took it.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Professor’s Dormitory at the Academy.
In the darkened room, lamplight from the campus cast faint shadows through the windows.
Yeom Sa-hyeon crossed the room, carelessly shaking water from his damp hair.
Only after washing away every trace of the Monster’s sticky residue did he feel his constricted breathing finally ease.
He picked up the item left on the nightstand.
‘Latent potential, huh….’
He’d have to hand it over to Gwak Cheol-joong again.
His eyes grew heavy with fatigue.
“Tsk.”
He carelessly tossed the Badge into his inventory.
Having taken a full Mental-type Skill attack to his entire body after so long, his thoughts kept scattering.
Tomorrow the Academy would be turned upside down once more.
Without hesitation, he drew the blackout curtains shut.
The room sank into complete darkness.
Yeom Sa-hyeon threw himself onto the bed.

S-Rank Inquisitor Devours the Academy Episode 51

Author
Baek Ruga
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yoon Tae-ri
Cover Design
Tom

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0051

ⓒ2026, Baek Ruga

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
Without permission from the author and publisher, no part of this work may be reproduced or adapted in any form.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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